BBC INTERACTIVE SERVICES AIM TO GET VOTE

AS THE country goes to the polls on June 7, the BBC are offering digital viewers a chance to capture every result coming in with a range of interactive services on all digital television platforms, to keep them in the thick of the Election action.
The showpiece of the interactive services is a Vote 2001 Interactive Election Special on the digital terrestrial platform. Created by BBC News in conjunction with BBC New Media, the service offers everything from a textual breakdown of declared seats and visual representations of the leading parties, to a fun interactive quiz for those wanting to take a break from the electoral tension.
Digital terrestrial viewers tuning in to the BBC’s election coverage on digital BBC One and News 24 can access the service by pressing the red button on their handset or through the shortcuts key while accessing BBC Text. The picture shrinks to quarter screen and offers the following options:
Results - An alphabetical guide to each constituency in the UK - from Aberavon to Yorkshire East - with results of declared seats announced as they happen.
Battlegrounds - A visual guide depicting the seats Labour need to retain power, and those the Conservatives need to win to take the majority.
Swing with Snow - The swingometer made famous by Peter Snow offers viewers a visual guide to shifts in support between the two main parties. This section also includes a selection of colourful statistics no political junky should be without, broken down by nations and regions (where applicable) and offering comparable results from the ’97 Election. State of the parties provides a breakdown of Parliament’s 659 seats by party; Share of the Vote gives a percentage view of how each of the main parties fared in the polls; while Turnout and Votes provides an insight into the percentage of those eligible who did go to the polls. Latest Prediction is based on the BBC’s exit poll and offers a forecast based on the trends shown by these counts. As the evening progresses and seats are declared the predicted result becomes more precise.
Latest news headlines - Find out who’s out and who’s in as the votes decide the fate of the political heavyweights.
What’s happening - A timetable of events outlining when seats are expected to be declared.
Quiz - Viewers can take a break from the tension and test their political nous by pitting themselves against the interactive quiz.
The service will continue the following day, so that the final result in Northern Ireland can be included, along with a full archive of the results.
As the BBC are the only UK broadcasters with digital services on the three major television platforms, they will also be offering digital cable and digital satellite viewers text services to keep them up to speed on the latest Election news.
Digital cable viewers with Telewest have benefited from a comprehensive information service in the run up to the Election. The service provides viewers with content ranging from the latest stories on the campaign trail, and a guide to parties and their policies to details of the latest opinion polls. (CD)